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Ships, Levels and Stuff Cut From the Game
O-R-B has a ton of goodies buried beneath it's hood that upon examination gives the appearance that the game was not finished upon it's release. Goodies include ships cut from the game, levels cut from the game, effects and abilities cut from the game, and so on. Cut Malus Ships The Malus have several cut ships which appear in the unit roster in the Scenario Editor. Most of these crash the game in some way or another, but a few were complete and work flawlessly, yet for some reason were not included in the game. Polemach- Polemach is a Fencer II modified with a ton more health. This unit darts around like a normal Fencer II, but for some odd reason has no sensors. It crashes the game when it uses borrowed sensors, like when a friendly ship is in the area and there are hostile ships at the same time. Polemach does not appear to have any special abilities other than the HP boost. It is possible that Polemach is either a cut Hero unit in Skirmish, or campaign, or is a main character unit for the hidden Malus levels. Tolemarch- Tolemarch is a modified Interceptor M with 16 missiles total and 500 health, giving it more health than a heavy corvette like the Invader or Marksman class fighters. It also crashes the game upon attacking. Tolemarch might be a scrapped Hero unit or a main character unit. Defense array lv3- Level one is the gun array, level 2 is the beam array, and level 3 appears to have had torpedo ordinance against fighters and capital ships. It does not appear in a build roster or a hidden info file (like the starbase hidden info file) and neither does it spawn in when forced to by Scenario editor. Interceptor: Solar- The solar model of the Interceptor appears to behave like a normal interceptor, and is one of the few ships completed that was scrapped; it will attack and defend and move around and respond and has its own sensors. The shields seem to be no different, but perhaps the key difference is that there is a setting in Scenario editor for inflict damage to unit with the option Ignore solar shields. Selecting it causes the Interceptor : Solar to shrug off the inflicted damage while everything else takes direct damage without shields depleting. Interceptor: H- This unit is also complete and will fight every day, twice on sunday. It is a normal interceptor that can hyperjump. If disabled and stolen, it will not unlock hyperjump technology, nor will it allow construction of H models. Frigate3- Frigate 3 appears to be an even more beefed up Frigate class capital, 1 being four guns, 2, being 3 guns and a rocket launcher that did the damage of an Anti-Matter torpedo. 3 might be cloaking or hyperjump, but it makes more sense for it to have been loaded with torpedoes for even more damage. Frigate 3 can appear in a build screen on accident, but hitting build does nothing. When forcefully spawned by scenario editor, nothing happens. Asteroid base lv4 & 5- There apparently were two more asteroid base levels that the Malus could unlock with an extended research tree, but they are unavailable. The may have upgraded to allow capital ship construction, but this is entirely theoritical. Setting the game to forcefully spawn one does nothing. Lord General- This is a modified Assault Carrier with 30% more health, no shields and 1000 missiles loaded onto it. It appears in the hidden malus mission 1, which is malus mission 10 overall, and crashes the game when enemy ships get close and it sees it on sensors. She can build units still, and spawns an escape pod on detonation, but the pod does not appear to do anything. Exarch- exactly the same as Polemach Destroyer mkII- This unit whose name escapes me, (and scenario editor crashes every time I start it) is a malus destroyer with 500% more health and 100 torpedoes loaded onto it. It crashes the game if it detects an enemy. It also has no shields, and spawns an escape pod on self-destruct. Cargo Ship lv3- This appears to have been an even further upgraded heavy freighter. What it did is only a guess as it won't spawn in even when forced to, but judging by hints from the in game files, it may have had cloaking abilities. If not, it may have had even more cargo storage. Repair Tug- this is the repair ship beta version which no longer does anything. It will fly around all day long, but never repair. It has no shields. Missile4- an unknown missile that crashes the game the moment it spawns in. Judging by the fact that missile 1 was a missile, 2 was a torpedo, and 3 was the Advanced torpedo, it was probably a more powerful torpedo. It may be the torpedo for the capital ships that have torpedoes on the malus side. Cut Alyssian Ships Ensign- a Justice with a mega hp boost and no sensors, the Alyssian Polemach basically. Admiral- A Righteous with 100 torpedoes loaded onto it that crashes the game when it attacks. Leaves behind an escape pod. General- an Alyssian Victory with 1000 missiles loaded on it. Alyssian Lord General basically. Starchaser Solar- Same as interceptor Solar. Corv3- an unknown ship that was complete to the point it has it's own icon. Corv3 makes an appearance in the game's manual, but it is not the subject of the discussion, rather it has something to do with Alyssian exploration. The game forces Corv3 as a fighter class and was finished so much that it has it's own debris effect, but it crashes the game when it detects enemy fighters. Starchaser H- Same as interceptor H Asteroid bases lv4 & 5- Same as Malus Asteroid Bases lv 4-5 Cargo ship lv3 Repair Tug Frigate 3- Lv3 Alyssian Conquest. May have had cloaking or better missiles. Cut Aldar Ships Sensor Relay- an Aldar artifact in the shape of a sphere that was bisected and then covered in ice or crystal. Serves as the Aldar Sensor Satellite. Aldar Jump Gate- Not the O shaped jump gate, this big boy is larger than the planet Malus, and is made of solid crystal. This unit appears in AS8, alyssian campaign eight, or hidden campaign 1. It's model was used for the Aldar Sanctuary as part of the storyline. Behemoth- the six race vessel that some guy was too lazy to add a separate race list for. Can Hyperjump, crashes the game on attacking. Great battering ram. Classified as a Dreadnaught, the only to exist in the game. Ghost small, med and large- these ghosts emit tails like comets and can be seen at all times unless powered down. They go in random directions even while powered down, and are classified as fighters. They can attack and have sensor range, but their 'attack' consists of them wandering aimlessly before suddenly veering at the target and zig zagging, before wandering off again. They have a hyperjump meter, but due to their random movements, they will probably never go through the portal. They can take damage but as of yet not one has been destroyed. When self destruct is selected, they simply blip out of existence without an explosion. Their model is actually a very small square with what appears to be a tiled (repeating over and over) portal texture. Aldar Starbase- apparently there was supposed to be the option for the game to allow Aldar ships as playable units in skirmish. The Starbase is circumstantial evidence of this, though the model is corrupted and crashes the game on loading. Aldar Torpedo Probe- This bad boy has twice the health of a normal probe, and has the exact same design as the Alyssian probe. It has purple exhaust however, and does double damage. Aldar Defense array- self explanitory, probably a beam array. Aldar Holobase- an aldar asteroid base which is a color-altered kyulek asteroid base Aldar Asteroid base lv 1-5 – none of these actually work, but they're in the roster. Cut Kyulek Units KyuStarbase- A Kyulek Starbase that won't spawn in no matter how hard you try. Kyulek Asteroid Base lv 1-5 – None of these actually work, but they're in the roster. Cut Levels Malus Campaign- Hidden Campaign 1, or Malus Misson 10- This level is actually buried in one of the RES files. Opening the RES file with a special decoder will let you yank this level out and play it, but it will crash instantly. Opening it in the Scenario editor give a message along the lines of 'ORB.EXE Too old, update your program!' Forcing it to run through admin privellages reveals the code to be similar but slightly different than the normal code, and that the code calls for parts in the UI, (User interface) that aren't there, signaling that O-R-B was due to a future patch or perhaps even a sequel, but was never released. Forcing the game to run, the player will discover that most of the controls are disabled after the intro is done, and that only a few select ships work right, namely the two Seekers Hybrid Destroyers escorting Lord General through a region of Aldus infested by Kyulek. If a Kyulek unit gets near Lord General, Lord General crashes the game due to bad coding. If the player successfully navigates Lord General through the enemy assault, a cutscene is scripted to play, but calls for too many things O-R-B does not support, like texture decals, and the game crashes. The story behind the campain mission here is that the Exarch is fleeing Malus while his army was fighting Alyssian forces in the Alyssia Sector, so right about the time the player begins the assault on Alyssia in mission 9 is when mission 10 takes place for timeline interested people. Heavy freighters and unarmed carriers try to ferry Malus citizens away from malus and are being targeted by Ktu-Pods and Hives and Arcs, (Arcs are a new Kyulek capital). The Exrach is being evacuated on his private Assault Carrier with his escort, but the Kyulek issue a demand the Exarch meet with them in person. The Exarch first tries to flee but wanders into an ambush where they are attacked and boarded by Kyulek who are emaciated humanoids that require crutches to stand in the artificial gravity of the Malus Ships. They strike a deal for the Exarch to hunt down and subvert malus survivors for unknown purposes the Kyulek leave secret, and the mission ends. Malus Hidden Campaign II, OR Malus Campaign mission 11. This level won't load at all with the cutscene at the beginning. However, the events of it are detailed in the audio logs- The Night Sky Cult travels to the Grey Wall sector, a currently unknown region of Aldus, persuing the other Malus clans. Some join sides with the Night Sky out of intimidation, some for patriotism, but a few refuse, and so are forcibly eliminated by the Kyulek. After this, the Exarch looks into trying to convince the Kyulek of the error of their ways, further supported by the events of Alyssian mission 7, 'Troubled Home' where the Kyulek broadcast denies the Exarch's offer of “freedom,” which he narrates as their enslavement to themselves in Malus Mission 11. It is then assumed Malus unifies in space to a degree, settling around the Alyssia sector and Frozen Edge sector where the Alyssians hyperjump to from the Sleeping Traveler Sector's Aldar Sanctuary. Alyssian Mission 8 or hidden campaign 1 This level also won't load properly, though some of it is still investigateable. This level takes place in a new sector called 'Thrall (and something incomprehensible)'. The Seethe is still present along with the surviving fleet from the final main campaign, as they seek a spot on the Aldar Holomap of the sanctuary in Aldus, specifically in this sector. Traveling there, they discover a malus clan seeking refuge there and they become hostile, forcing the Alyssians to defend themselves. Dealing with the threat, they enter the sanctuary, different than the one in Sleeping Traveler, as it is open to space. Aldar Artifacts litter the area, as do several massive crystaline jumpgates which lead to places well outside Aldus. Approaching one causes computers in the Seethe to respond to an ancient distress signal, activiating one of the jumpgates. Going through it triggers the next mission, and wipes the tech tree clean, but also is supposed to extend it (and is one of many reasons this level is so unstable) Alyssian Mission 10 or hidden campaign 2 Jumping to the other side reveals a massive kyulek ambush. The Seethe and most other ships are AI controlled, but the player has control of a few fighter squadrons and logistics ships. They must flee the area to reunite with a Seekers Carrier :C which fled the area, and there they take control of the carrier as the last of the Aldar ships is destroyed. Leaving the player with one capital ship, 3000 resources and however many ships survived, they must build up an offensive force to wipe out the Kyulek. Doing so will cause more of them to appear, which had apparently been cloaked, and finishing them causes the Aldar Jump Gate to become active with a strange portal signature. Behemoth hyperjumps into the area (causing the game to crash) and from here the audio logs narrate a space battle where the Kyulek that survived joined forces with the Alyssians and seekers to destroy Behemoth and failed. Behemoth then becomes hostile to all remaining ships, destroying them, and reviving the dead crew members for it's own army, heading to the other Aldar Jump Gate to attack the Sanctuary. The mission is set up like there was supposed to be a third, but there is no third level. Likely these were either unfinished and then the game stalled in development, left behind as easter eggs, or was apart of some future patch that failed in being released. It is possible however that there is atleast an updated O-R-B out there on someone's computer at Strategy First, and it can play these levels probably without crashing. That last sentence is entirely conjecture of course. Cut Abilities These can be seen by doing the following: Get a powerful carrier to make it quick; Use that carrier to disable an enemy ship. Deploy a troop transport before it is disabled and set the transport doctrine to aggressive so it does it itself. Press T to follow the transport with the camera Ctrl left click your carrier with your transport and sit there at the menu- When the pods deploy, the whole command list shows as following- Idle -All Attack – fighters and capitals Attack to disable – fighters and capitals Attack to Kill – fighters and capitals Ram - all Kamikaze - all Hide- cut ability Tow- Cut ability Build Mine – Resource Base Board – Troop Transport Repair – Repair Ship Extract Artifact- Cut ability park – All but capitals dock – All but capitals dock to research – All but capitals dock to salvage – All but capitals reload - all but capitals shadow - All guard - All Escort – cut ability Open Slip Gate – cut ability Hyperjump – All Hyperjump ships Deploy Satellite – cut ability Deploy Mines – cut ability (Space mines? I WANT SOME!!!) Sweep Mines – cut ability Scan – Recon and Adv Recon vessel Scan Debris – cut ability Rescan debris – cut ability harvest - Freighters patrol - all guard – all through glitch Launch! - Torpedo probe Autoscan – Recon and Advanced recon vessels Cut Effects The game has sound files and script for those sound files for sound effects like the spaceports actually making noise, satellites making noise, and the Sixth race sound effects for engines, shields and weapons for fighters. It also has unused music files for when the player is playing as an Aldar or Kyulek Race, and for certain abilities like powering down. Also worth noting is the extremely rare option to disable an enemy spaceport that if successful leads to a whole host of hilariousness for the attacking player, though when it comes back online the game will crash (So blow it up before it does!!!) Misc cut stuff Scenario editor was originally capable of making custom logos, but the updated one 'forgot' to add that ability, though the game will still take them. Scenario Editor has the option for using custom textures on planets, asteroids and the nebulae and stars, but it will never let you confirm the decision. If you do not set boundary size and ignore the warning in 1.02 and up, the game will grant you an arena with unlimited size, but only the recon vessels can leave under the player's command, since they explore at random. Every other unit unless following said recon vessel will be confined to the second map ring in the overworld map. This may explain why in the Statues Skirmish level there are mineable asteroids way outside the playable area that the player cannot see from any angle unless they leave it, that the intention was to one time let the player free roam. O-R-B was originally going to let you create custom units. This would put it on par with modern day Sandbox/Builder games, when coupled with infinite playable space. O-R-B Also cut voice chat from the multiplayer lobbies in 1.03. In the create planet window for O-R-B scenario Editor, the game has the Aldar Planet option, meaning that at one time it was possible to create the Aldar Homeworld as it was supposed to look. The texture has since been removed from the game. The closest looking to it is Scarred Planet in the Fallen Sun Sector which is littered with Aldar debris and Elathen Debris.